Count and Snack
Here's What To Do
1
Tell your child that they will be counting their snacks before they eat them.
2
Show them how to count two snacks, touching and sliding one piece at a time. Make sure you count each piece as you slide it down in front of you.
3
Ask your child to count out three pieces, making sure to slide and count each piece until they reach the number three, and then tell them to eat the snack.
4
Repeat various times counting one through five pieces.
Put PEER Into Action
P
Pause:
- Invite your child to pour out some snacks with you. Have them place a few handfuls of snack items on a clean surface.
E
Engage:
- How many pieces have you counted?
- I see you counted to three but you only have one snack, can you try again?
E
Encourage:
- Count with your child as needed, whenever possible stretch out the number word to help your child try to say the next number. Ex. One, two, three, four, ffffff-fiiiiiiii-vvvvvvv, yes five!
- If your child is making the same error help them by saying “I like how you are saying each number out loud but let’s try slowing down and saying the number as we touch each piece.”
R
Reflect:
- How does it feel to touch each piece as you count it? Is it easy or hard? Do you like doing it?
Not quite ready?
Use hand over hand to help guide your child as they pick up and count each snack item.
Ready for more?
Encourage your child to count more than five snacks at a time.
As your child masters this skill...
They will count 1-5 items correctly with one to one correspondence.